Researchers find drug-resistant Malaria in Uganda

Researchers in Uganda analysed malaria patients and found a form of drug-resistant malaria disease, strengthening worries about the utilization of current drugs against the parasitic disease.

The research, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, contains the analysis of 240 blood samples collected over 3 years from patients treated with artemisinin, the primary medicine used for malaria in Africa.

Notably, the researchers found that by 2019, nearly 20% of the samples had genetic mutations suggesting that the current treatment was ineffective. The researchers said that this led to a longer time for recovery in patients with malaria.

Although drug-resistant forms of Malaria have been detected in Asia, the researchers pointed out, the new finding is alarming as Africa accounts for more than 90% of the world’s Malaria cases. “Our findings suggest a potential risk of crossborder spread across Africa,” they write.

Dr. Nicholas White, a professor of tropical medicine at Mahidol University in Bangkok, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal, said that doctors must use 3 drugs in combination instead of the standard approach.

“We basically rely on one drug for malaria and now it’s been hobbled. We shouldn’t wait until the fire is burning to do something, but that is not what generally happens in global health.”

Source: https://www.modernhealthcare. com/supply-chain/researchers-detectmalaria-resistant-key-drug-africa

Study discovers a new strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease

Researchers from the University of Utah Health have identified a molecule A-443654 which slows cells’ production of alpha-synuclein, a protein that makes toxic aggregates in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. This finding could lead to a new strategy for treating the disease and halting its progression.

The research was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.